Efficacy of bed bug control methods and techniques
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Efficacy of bed bug control methods and techniques Wendy Wen, Narinderpal Singh Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) have plagued apartments, houses, and other living quarters throughout the world, and although various insecticides have been sold and used with the intentions of killing bed bugs, only few are effective. The majority of labeled products available belong to a pyrethroid class of insecticides to which a widespread resistance has already been reported in the U.S. Professional products using synthetic chemicals may be highly effective in exterminating bed bug infestations but may also be unsafe for households with young children and pets. Oftentimes, the close proximity of bed bugs to human sleeping areas presents a high probability of human-insecticide exposure when insecticides are used for controlling bed bugs. Although there are safer essential oil based consumer products on the market, professional products that use synthetic chemicals are generally thought to be more effective in killing bed bugs. In this study, a variety of insecticides were used to perform a series of direct spray, residual, and choice bioassays with the intention of determining if professional products can be replaced with safer essential oil based consumer products. Consumer products: Bed Bug Bully, Bed Bug Fix, Bed Bug Patrol, Ecoexempt IC2, EcoRaider, Rest Assured, Stop Bugging Me Professional Products: Demand, Phantom, Suspend, Temprid, Transport, Zenprox Introduction Methods Experiment 1 – Direct spray bioassay Bed bugs were placed on filter paper in a small Petri dish and treated with either an insecticide or water using a Potter spray tower at the rate of 1 gallon/1000 ft 2 . After being sprayed, the bugs were immediately transferred to clean dishes with screened lids. Mortality rates were recorded for 14 days. Experiment 2 – Residual bioassay Insecticides were sprayed directly on 6 in x 6 in cardboard panels covered with white fabric at the rate of 1 gallon/1000 ft 2 using a Potter spray tower. After one day, bed bugs were released on the treated fabric and confined with a plastic ring for 5 minutes. The bugs were then transferred to clean Petri dishes. The fabric in the untreated control was sprayed with water. Mortality rates were recorded for 14 days. Experiment 3 – Choice bioassay Pieces of fabric were sprayed with either an insecticide or water using a Potter spray tower. Each piece of fabric treated with an insecticide was placed in a large Petri dish next to another piece of untreated fabric that was sprayed with water. Bed bugs were placed in the center of the dish and were given the choice of occupying either piece of fabric. A Petri dish with two pieces of untreated fabric was used as a control. Mortality rates were recorded for 16 days. Abbot’s formula was used to calculate an adjusted mortality percentage for all readings according to the control. Results 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Mortality (%) Days Efficacy of Insecticides in Choice Bioassay Bed Bug Patrol Demand EcoRaider Phantom Temprid Experiment 1 – In the direct spray bioassay, consumer products, Bed Bug Patrol and EcoRaider, were effective in killing bed bugs with a 100% mortality rate after 14 days. Temprid, a professional product, was also effective in killing bed bugs with a 100% mortality rate. Experiment 2 – In the residual bioassay, consumer products, Bed Bug Patrol and EcoRaider, were effective in killing bed bugs with a 100% mortality rate after 14 days. Professional products, Temprid, Transport, and Zenprox, were also effective in killing bed bugs with a 100% mortality rate. Experiment 3 – Consumer products that were effective in the direct spray and residual bioassays (Bed Bug Patrol and EcoRaider) were not effective in the choice bioassay, resulting in a less than 20% mortality rate. Professional product, Temprid, still showed to be relatively effective, with a 93% mortality rate. Bed bugs were sprayed with insecticides using a Potter spray tower. Conclusion Bed bugs were exposed to treated fabric for five minutes during the residual bioassay. Many essential oil based consumer products were tested for their efficacy of killing bed bugs. The consumer products, Bed Bug Patrol and EcoRaider, were both effective in killing bed bugs in the direct spray bioassay and the residual bioassay. However, while Temprid – a professional product – was able to maintain a high mortality rate for all three bioassays, neither Bed Bug Patrol nor EcoRaider resulted in high mortality rates in the choice bioassay. This suggests that while Bed Bug Patrol and EcoRaider are able to effectively kill bed bugs upon contact, they also act as a repellent. When given the choice to stay on a fabric treated with either Bed Bug Patrol or EcoRaider or on an untreated fabric, bed bugs tended to reside on the untreated fabric. By avoiding the insecticides, the bed bugs did not come in contact with the insecticides and therefore did not die. Although essential oil based consumer products can be just as effective as professional products in killing bed bugs and may therefore seem like a safer alternative to professional products which use synthetic chemicals, the effective essential oil based consumer products also tend to act too much as a repellent to properly lure bed bugs in order to kill them. It is recommended that a combination of both essential oil based and synthetic chemical based products be used to adequately eliminate bed bug infestations that occur regularly in households. Consumer products should be used in sleeping areas where children and pets are present while professionals products should be used where infestations are severe to control the bed bug problem from spreading. Bed bugs were given the choice of occupying a treated or untreated piece of fabric. Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. Changlu Wang for providing me with the opportunity to work in his lab, Marcus Kwasek for teaching me the basics of bed bug care and handling, and Narinderpal Singh for guiding me through the entire research process. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Mortality (%) Days Efficacy of Insecticides in Residual Bioassay Bed Bug Patrol Demand EcoRaider Phantom Suspend Temprid Transport Zenprox 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Mortality (%) Days Efficacy of Insecticides in Direct Spray Bioassay Bed Bug Bully Bed Bug Fix Bed Bug Patrol Demand Ecoexempt IC2 EcoRaider Rest Assured Stop Bugging Me Temprid
Transcript of Efficacy of bed bug control methods and techniques
Efficacy of bed bug control methods and techniques
Wendy Wen, Narinderpal Singh
Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) have plagued apartments, houses, and other living quarters throughout the world, and although various insecticides have been sold and used with the intentions of killing bed bugs, only few are effective. The majority of labeled products available belong to a pyrethroid class of insecticides to which a widespread resistance has already been reported in the U.S. Professional products using synthetic chemicals may be highly effective in exterminating bed bug infestations but may also be unsafe for households with young children and pets. Oftentimes, the close proximity of bed bugs to human sleeping areas presents a high probability of human-insecticide exposure when insecticides are used for controlling bed bugs. Although there are safer essential oil based consumer products on the market, professional products that use synthetic chemicals are generally thought to be more effective in killing bed bugs. In this study, a variety of insecticides were used to perform a series of direct spray, residual, and choice bioassays with the intention of determining if professional products can be replaced with safer essential oil based consumer products. Consumer products: Bed Bug Bully, Bed Bug Fix, Bed Bug Patrol, Ecoexempt IC2, EcoRaider, Rest Assured, Stop Bugging Me Professional Products: Demand, Phantom, Suspend, Temprid, Transport, Zenprox
Introduction
Methods Experiment 1 – Direct spray bioassay Bed bugs were placed on filter paper in a small Petri dish and treated with either an insecticide or water using a Potter spray tower at the rate of 1 gallon/1000 ft2. After being sprayed, the bugs were immediately transferred to clean dishes with screened lids. Mortality rates were recorded for 14 days. Experiment 2 – Residual bioassay Insecticides were sprayed directly on 6 in x 6 in cardboard panels covered with white fabric at the rate of 1 gallon/1000 ft2 using a Potter spray tower. After one day, bed bugs were released on the treated fabric and confined with a plastic ring for 5 minutes. The bugs were then transferred to clean Petri dishes. The fabric in the untreated control was sprayed with water. Mortality rates were recorded for 14 days. Experiment 3 – Choice bioassay Pieces of fabric were sprayed with either an insecticide or water using a Potter spray tower. Each piece of fabric treated with an insecticide was placed in a large Petri dish next to another piece of untreated fabric that was sprayed with water. Bed bugs were placed in the center of the dish and were given the choice of occupying either piece of fabric. A Petri dish with two pieces of untreated fabric was used as a control. Mortality rates were recorded for 16 days. Abbot’s formula was used to calculate an adjusted mortality percentage for all readings according to the control.
Results
0
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Mo
rtal
ity
(%)
Days
Efficacy of Insecticides in Choice Bioassay
Bed Bug Patrol
Demand
EcoRaider
Phantom
Temprid
Experiment 1 – In the direct spray bioassay, consumer products, Bed Bug Patrol and EcoRaider, were effective in killing bed bugs with a 100% mortality rate after 14 days. Temprid, a professional product, was also effective in killing bed bugs with a 100% mortality rate.
Experiment 2 – In the residual bioassay, consumer products, Bed Bug Patrol and EcoRaider, were effective in killing bed bugs with a 100% mortality rate after 14 days. Professional products, Temprid, Transport, and Zenprox, were also effective in killing bed bugs with a 100% mortality rate.
Experiment 3 – Consumer products that were effective in the direct spray and residual bioassays (Bed Bug Patrol and EcoRaider) were not effective in the choice bioassay, resulting in a less than 20% mortality rate. Professional product, Temprid, still showed to be relatively effective, with a 93% mortality rate.
Bed bugs were sprayed with insecticides using a Potter spray tower.
Conclusion
Bed bugs were exposed to treated fabric for five minutes during the residual bioassay.
Many essential oil based consumer products were tested for their efficacy of killing bed bugs.
The consumer products, Bed Bug Patrol and EcoRaider, were both effective in killing bed bugs in the direct spray bioassay and the residual bioassay. However, while Temprid – a professional product – was able to maintain a high mortality rate for all three bioassays, neither Bed Bug Patrol nor EcoRaider resulted in high mortality rates in the choice bioassay. This suggests that while Bed Bug Patrol and EcoRaider are able to effectively kill bed bugs upon contact, they also act as a repellent. When given the choice to stay on a fabric treated with either Bed Bug Patrol or EcoRaider or on an untreated fabric, bed bugs tended to reside on the untreated fabric. By avoiding the insecticides, the bed bugs did not come in contact with the insecticides and therefore did not die. Although essential oil based consumer products can be just as effective as professional products in killing bed bugs and may therefore seem like a safer alternative to professional products which use synthetic chemicals, the effective essential oil based consumer products also tend to act too much as a repellent to properly lure bed bugs in order to kill them. It is recommended that a combination of both essential oil based and synthetic chemical based products be used to adequately eliminate bed bug infestations that occur regularly in households. Consumer products should be used in sleeping areas where children and pets are present while professionals products should be used where infestations are severe to control the bed bug problem from spreading.
Bed bugs were given the choice of occupying a treated or untreated piece of fabric.
Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. Changlu Wang for providing me with the opportunity to work in his lab, Marcus Kwasek for teaching me the basics of bed bug care and handling, and Narinderpal Singh for guiding me through the entire research process.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Mo
rta
lity
(%
)
Days
Efficacy of Insecticides in Residual Bioassay
Bed Bug Patrol
Demand
EcoRaider
Phantom
Suspend
Temprid
Transport
Zenprox
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Mo
rta
lity
(%
)
Days
Efficacy of Insecticides in Direct Spray Bioassay
Bed Bug Bully
Bed Bug Fix
Bed Bug Patrol
Demand
Ecoexempt IC2
EcoRaider
Rest Assured
Stop Bugging Me
Temprid
